Big bucks spent by anti-Obama “SuperPACs”

They moved in on Washington’s 2010 U.S. Senate race, and now Republican “SuperPACS” are mounting a large-scale early blitz of TV attack ads against President Obama in so-called “swing” states.

Karl Rove: Photo by Getty Images

Crossroads GPS, a group co-founded by Bush guru Karl Rove, spent $5.5 million two years ago in a bid to defeat U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash. It was joined by another “SuperPAC” called the American Future Fund.

On Wednesday, CrossroadsGPS began a $25 million anti-Obama campaign in 10 selected swing states, from the Northeast (New Hampshire) to the Deep South (Florida) to the West (Nevada).

Crossroads GPS and its partner American Crossroads have declared that they intend to raise and spend $200 million during the 2012 election cycle.

American Future Fund has already spent $4.7 million on anti-Obama ads. Americans for Prosperity, linked to the billionaire Koch brothers, has shelled out $5 million. Americans for Prosperity spent heavily in Washington’s 3rd District two years ago.

Murray

Officially classified as “charitable” or “educational” non-profits with the Internal Revenue Service, groups like Crossroads GPS are not required to disclose their donors and can spend unlimited sums of money.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 “Citizens United” removed limits from campaign spending by corporations and unions, and made possible the secretive SuperPACS that have dominated the airwaves so far in the 2012 campaign.

The Supremes’ 5-4 decision threw out efforts to limit corporate corruption of American political life dating back 103 years to the administration of President Theodore Roosevelt.